For the longest time now we’ve seen Rekha as the elusive and enigmatic star. And the mystery around her intensifies every time you add Big B to the picture. There have been stories and hush hush rumours about the Silsila actors, but nobody ever dared to talk it out in the open. While many have asked why the eternal beauty sports a vermilion, we have accepted it as a part of Rekha’s style statement and personality. But, Deepali Issar in a recent interview was quoted saying, “Rekha wears sindoor for Big B.”

That is enough to get a mini storm amongst the media folks and fans. We wonder if this revelation from Mrs Issar is post the actress’ Bigg Boss promotional stint where she snubbed Puneet completely. Everybody got talking when Rekha ignored Punnet inside the Bigg Boss house. Stories of Rekha holding Issar responsible for Big B’s injury on Coolie sets made headlines.

With this statement has Mrs Issar now also called upon Bachchan family’s wrath? Well, we can’t wait to read the full interview. What about you BollywoodLifers?

In a candid chat, the Paa director revealed his love for the veteran filmmaker’s flicks

Filmmaker R Balakrishnan aka Balki, who stands out in Bollywood for his originality and ability to tell complex tales with a rare simplicity, says he finds the works of late filmmaker Manmohan Desai inspiring.

“As a director, I think Manmohan Desai did the best films. He was a genius! Whatever he did, nobody can do it today. All his films were so original … I would love to be (like) Manmohan Desai,” said Balki, whose Shamitabh released last, said.

Desai is best remembered for movies like “Bluff Master”, “Coolie”, “Naseeb” and “Amar Akbar Anthony”, and he worked a lot with Amitabh Bachchan.

Balki too has worked with Big B in three of his films — “Cheeni Kum”, “Paa” and now “Shamitabh”. He says the megastar is only “getting younger everyday”.

“How much he has earned in this industry … at 72, he has so much power. Time moves on, but the power of (Amitabh) Bachchan will never go,” he said.

The yesteryear actress was on nation’s most controversial reality show to promote her upcoming film

Rekha was seen spreading her charm in tonight’s episode of Salman Khan’s Bigg Boss 8. The actress was on the high voltage reality show to promote her upcoming film, Super Nani.

Salman and Rekha shared the stage after ages. But they made sure that the viewers are entertained for they sang and danced together.

However, that wasn’t the only interesting thing that happened in the episode. We also saw Rekha interacting and having a jolly good time with all the contestants, except Puneet Issar.

Yes, while the Koi Mil Gaya actress was warm to every housemate, but she was royally ignoring Puneet.

In fact, when she went inside the house, she greeted everyone with a hug, but when Puneet tried to hug her, she walked away.

We wonder if the actress is still miffed with Puneet over that Coolie incident. As many of you will already know, while shooting for Coolie, Puneet had accidentally caused a serious injury to Big B, after which Issar became a national villain.

While Sr Bachchan’s legion of fans have let the bygones be bygones, but looks like Rekha haven’t been able to forgive Puneet yet.

Puneet will be heard talking to the contestants about the infamous Coolie incident

Puneet Issar will narrate his Coolie incident with Amitabh Bachchan to the housemates in tonight’s episode of Bigg Boss 8. As many of you might already know, when Puneet signed his first Bollywood film Coolie, he was given a fight sequence with Sr Bachchan. But the action sequence went wrong thereby hurting Sr Bachchan very badly.

“I had to pick Mr Bachchan and throw him to one side. And once he comes back I had to punch him in the stomach. We did four-five rehearsals which went fine. After that we started shooting. I picked up Amitji and threw him to one side, he lost balance and came forward. At the same time I had to punch him in the stomach. As he lost balance he came forward with full force and I punched him. He collapsed. That’s when I got really scared. He was hurt badly. I was accussed of trying to kill the national hero and I had suddenly become the national villian. Later when Amitji recovered he addressed the media and said that it was not MY fault. But people don’t accept. I was thrown out of 7-8 films and for 6 years. I had no work,” reveals Puneet.

For long now Bollywood’s megastar has been spotted visiting the hospital and this has been a worry for his family, fans and well wishers in the industry

Amitabh Bachchan is one of the most loved stars in Bollywood. It’s no surprise then that almost two decades back when Big B was hospitalised for a stomach injury on the sets of his cult movie Coolie, (26th July 1982) the whole nation came to a halt praying for his quick recovery and well-being. Even today every Sunday outside the Bachchan house in Jalsa, the sight is heartwarming as fans gather in huge numbers to get a glance of their favourite superstar. So then the news of Amitabh suffering from intestinal ailment that could be cancerous came as a shocker to us. According to tellychakkar.com Big B is suffering from cancer. The website reported, “Big B is taking medical treatment for the Big C which somehow seems to have made its way into his colon or intestine.” This site also had statements from a well placed source in Bachchan’s hospital and his treating doctor Jayan S Barve’s (father of designer Nachiket Barve) comments. The source said, “Amitabh comes calling at least once every month and his reports suggest that he is suffering from an intestinal ailment that could be cancerous.” While Dr Barve wasn’t the one to reveal much details, he said, “Who says this? You should check with Mr Bachchan about it.”

Well, we hope that Bachchan Sr is hale and hearty and continues to entertain us for many years to come. As for the reports about early stages of cancer, we’re sure that this Shehanshah will battle and emerge victorous. Haven’t we seen likes of Manisha Koirala and Yuvraj Singh emerge winners after battling this disease? For now we hope that these reports are just hearsay, hai na BollywoodLifers?

Bollywood’s original angry young man turns 71 today

Born on October 11, 1942, Amitabh Bachchan started his Bollywood journey with Khwaja Ahmad Abbas’s Saat Hindustani. After doing more than 180 films in over four decades, Big B as he is fondly called remains one of the most popular and loved actors of the industry. Amitabh Bachchan married Jaya Bhaduri in 1973 and has two children – Shweta Nanda and Abhishek Bachchan.

Though he did films like Major Saab and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan it did not work that well. Big B returned back in form with Yash Raj Film’s Mohabbatien and since then, there is no looking back for the superstar of Bollywood. Since then, Big B has delivered a variety of roles in films like Aks, Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham, Baghbaan, Khakee, Dev, Lakshya, Black, Bunty Aur Babli, Sarkaar, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, Nishabd, Cheeni Kum, Sarkar Raj, The Last Lear, Aarakshan, The Great Gatsby and Satyagraha. Apart from films the actor is also popular as the host of the quiz show -Kaun Banega Crorepati. The show began in 2000 and Bachchan is currently the host of the seventh season of the popular reality show.

Amitabh Bachchan has won several awards for his achievements in the film industry. Apart from the National Film Awards and Filmfare recognitions, Bacchan also won the Padma Shri in 1984 and Padma Bhushan in 2001. In 2007, the French Government awarded him France’s highest civilian honour known as the Knight of the Legion of Honour.

We at BollywoodLife wish Big B a very happy birthday. Do send your wishes for the actor!

The Shahenshah of Bollywood regards August 2 as a day of ‘rebirth’ for him post recovery from a near-fatal accident on the sets of Coolie three decades ago

On 26 July 1982, while filming for Coolie in the University campus in Bangalore, Amitabh Bachchan suffered a near fatal intestinal injury during a fight scene with co-actor Puneet Issar. The corner of the table struck his abdomen, resulting in a splenic rupture due to which he lost a significant amount of blood. He required an emergency splenectomy and remained critically ill in the hospital for many months, at times close to death.

The public response included prayers in temples and offers to sacrifice limbs to save him, while later there were long queues of his fans outside the hospital where he was recuperating. Nevertheless, he spent many months recovering and resumed filming later that year after a long period of recuperation. Coolie was released in 1983, and partly due to the huge publicity it received post Bachchan’s accident, the film was a box office success.

This morning, Big B wrote on his blog: “The day I lived again … my Coolie accident … brought to Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai and second surgery performed, where when I did not come out, was clinically dead for a few minutes … so many that know wish me a Happy Birthday for today … Many thanks in advance – for it was the prayers of millions of my countrymen that saved my life..”

The first couple of Bollywood have been together for 40 long years. We take a look at Amitabh-Jaya’s life and some of the memorable films in which they were an onscreen couple

Their love story is as legendary as their fame and success in Bollywood. Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan have been married since June 3, 1973 and will complete 40 years of togetherness today. What makes them so special?

The two actors appeared in quite a few movies together, starting with Zanjeer (1973), which released in the year they got married and also helped Big B to get into the top league of Bollywood. In fact, it was to celebrate the film’s success in May that Amitabh and Jaya wanted to holiday abroad, when Big B’s parents insisted that they get married before the trip. And so, the wedding happened in June, and in July another classic film starring the two released. It was Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Abhimaan that dealt with ego clashes of a couple belonging to the same profession. Ironic!

Last year, in an interview to Filmfare magazine on the occasion of Sr Bachchan’s 70th birthday and his 40 years in Bollywood, Jaya spoke fondly of the day when she saw Amitabh for the first time – it was at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune. “But I was introduced to him on the sets of Guddi. He was supposed to play the role eventually done by Samit Bhanja but Anand released and Hrishikesh Mukherjee didn’t want a known face to play the character of a man who wasn’t impressed with cinema,” she reminisced, amidst planning for the now-famous celebration at the Reliance MediaWorks.

Amitabh and Jaya starred opposite each other in the iconic Sholay and Mili in 1975. Hrishida’s lovable Chupke Chupke also released the same year. In between, Jaya took a break and the two had beautiful babies – Shweta Bachchan (now Nanda) and Abhishek Bachchan. While Big B took care of Shweta as a baby, when Abhishek was born he was too busy, says Jaya.

Yash Chopra’s Silsila, about an extramarital affair, came in 1981. It was controversial, as it was rumoured to mirror Big B’s fling with his so-called real-life muse Rekha who starred in the film too. But Jaya and Amit (as she calls him) sailed through it all, just like they did two years later when tough times struck again – Amit had a near-fatal accident while shooting for Coolie. Nothing but the prayers of millions of fans saved him, believes the superstar even today. Jaya was by his side all through.

After a hugely successful career, came a lean phase when Big B was stuck in a rut. A series of flops and the failure of his company Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd (ABCL) followed, but Sr Bachchan rose like a phoenix in 2000 – not as film hero but a TV show host in Kaun Banega Crorepati. His place was etched in the hearts of millions of Indians again – this time not as lead hero but as a friend, philosopher and guide, and with a loving grandpa image – a far cry from the ‘angry young man’.

In between, Amit and Jaya made a special appearance in Marathi film Akka (1994), a goodwill gesture for his makeup man Deepak Sawant who was the producer. In Bollywood, the two thespians came together again in Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2000). In 2013, they were seen in a cameo in Sawant’s Bhojpuri film Ganga Devi. The makeup artist has been with the Bachchans for 40 years – lasting as long as their marriage.

The royal couple of Bollywood recently attended The Great Gatsby premiere in New York and looked great together. It seems they work and live together totally in sync, and in love, of course. Here’s wishing Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan a very happy 40th wedding anniversary. Send in your wishes!

The filmmaker has dozens of kids getting into crazy Big B characters from his most iconic films

Anurag Kashyap, who is known for his ‘dark’ films, has created a surprisingly light-hearted and cute music video for his segment in BombayTalkies. The song titled Give it up for Bachchan is clearly a prayer by and for Amitabh Bachchan fanboys.

In this video, we see around 60 kids dressed up as AB’s characters from films like Zanjeer, Don, AmarAkbarAnthony, Coolie, Bunty aur Babli, Sharabi and Deewar. It seems the filmmaker hasn’t left out any character!

Amit Trivedi again delivers a crazy tune which is both addictive and fun, while Sukhwinder Singh’s trademark melodious voice takes it to a whole new level!

What could be fun would be to try and spot which Amitabh character has Anurag missed out on in this track!

The super successful filmmaker talks about his new ‘rewrite’ (mind you, Himmatwala is not a remake!), buddy Ajay Devgn, newbie Tamannaah, Sridevi’s comment sabotaging his film, his war with critics, Himmatwala‘s commercial success and much more….

He does realise that anything he says could create headlines, but that doesn’t stop Sajid Khan from being his usual forthright self. His infamous war of words with various people and his digs at his contemporaries at awards ceremonies, along with his pompous claims about his films becoming superhits even before he starts shooting them have won him more brickbats than accolades. That could be why B-towners have labelled him brash and over-confident. Nevertheless, the fact is that Sajid Khan is one of the most sought after directors in B-town and one of the most commercially successful, with Heyy Babyy and Housefull franchises to his credit. Presenting the inimitable SK at his bratty best….

Himmatwala – a rewrite, not a remake

Himmatwala is one of my top five favourite Bollywood films and I’m very fortunate that my name is associated with the movie. The essence of the original Himmatwala is there in my version, but my treatment is different. The scenes and the characters in my Himmatwala are different from the original 1983 hit. It’s a ‘rewrite’ and not a ‘remake’. I’m sure the makers of the 1983 musical blockbuster will also enjoy my film.

Comparisons between the two Himmatwalas

There will be comparisons and it’s fair enough. Don’t you think people will compare the new Chashme Baddoor with the original? My film’s hero is white and the villain is grey. There are no shades of grey. It’s almost fairy tale-ish. I’ve added some nuances like slightly over-the-top acting, typical filmi scenes between mother and son… which today’s youth wouldn’t have experienced. When I started writing the screenplay, I realised that the scenes I had written were prevalent only in the 80s or beginning 90s. I’ve added my style of comedy, action and drama.

You’ve not seen Ajay like this before. I’m 100 percent confident that Ajay ki entry pe aapke ticket ka aadha paisa vasool ho jayega. You don’t get to see a heroic entry like this in today’s films, except for maybe Salman Khan. If 80 percent people don’t whistle and clap during Ajay’s entry, then I’ll change my name. It will be one of the top three hero entries in Hindi cinema after Amitabh Bachchan’s entry scene in Coolie. Sridevi was a big name down South before she did Himmatwala and became a household name. Likewise, I was looking for someone who’s a big star down South and could create a niche for herself with her debut Bollywood film. Tamannaah has got the spark in her and I’m sure she’ll go places.

On churning out hit after hit

Mark my words – Himmatwala will be a superhit and my next after that will also be a superhit. When I say my films will work at the box office, people feel I’ve lost it, become over-confident and turned egoistic. But when my films work, the same people say I was lucky! I believe in myself and my love for cinema. I make films for the audience and not for myself. And that’s why I’m always confident that my films will work at the box office.

Rs 150 crore target

Himmatwala isn’t a costly film, but I’m sure it’s going to be a profitable venture – that people will know on the day it releases. I hope it crosses Rs 150 crore and becomes Ajay and my biggest hit. If the audience like it, then obviously more footfalls will ensure good collections at the box office.

Himmatwala is not a spoof

I know people (read: critics) will object to certain scenes in Himmatwala, but I still went ahead and did them. You cannot please everyone all the time. Himmatwala will take a huge opening. By now, people know that brand Sajid Khan will not disappoint. I have a very positive approach and attitude towards my films. When people go to watch my films in theatres, they know that they will watch an entertaining film. I’m not stupid and I haven’t lost the plot. I’m very intelligent and I know exactly what’s going to work for the audience. I promise you, the tiger in my film will get as many taalis as Ajay Devgn. He’s the second hero of the film.

Sajid Khan vs the critics

Trust me, I’ve not read a single comment or review of any of my films – not because I’m scared; it’s just that I don’t want you to tell me what you feel about my film unless I ask your opinion. I’m not on Facebook, Twitter or any other social networking site. If my film is liked by people, the collections will speak. Truth and fact are two different things. In our industry, truth is manipulated most of the time. So it’s very convenient, unlike fact, which will remain as it is. My films fetch good money and at the same time people say that they enjoy watching my films… that’s a fact!

Dearth of good writers

The quality of writing prevalent in the 70s and 80s is certainly missing today. Where are today’s Salim Javed and Kader Khan? I’m blessed that my experience of watching more cinema and my understanding of it has helped me write some good stuff. Most of the dialogues and punchlines in Himmatwala are done by me. I’m not saying I’m a great writer, but I feel there’s lack of good writers.

On Sridevi’s remark – Himmatwala isn’t a Mughal E Azam

For Srideviji, Himmatwala shouldn’t be anything less than a Mughal-E-Azam, because she became a household name and an all-India star with Himmatwala. I feel she has every right to say what she feels about my film, coz that’s her opinion. I didn’t speak with her, though I had a word with Jeetuji (Jeentendra) two days before I started shooting the film. He was glad to know that I’m directing the film and blessed me.

Success hasn’t gone to my head

I don’t get carried away by success, nor will I get affected by failure. Success gives you power to attempt what you want to do rather than taking advice from people. The people you used to take advice from start taking advice from you when you succeed. I don’t have many friends in the industry and I’m not a party person. God forbid, if my films don’t work in the future – that doesn’t mean I’m a failure. I’ve faith in myself.